While a ton of ink has been — and will continue to be — spilled in discussion of the Detroit Tigers’ No. 1 offseason priority, finding a new manager, there are still several other decisions that need to be made.

Advertisement

One of them is whether or not the Tigers will continue to expand their payroll in search of the franchise’s first World Series title in nearly 30 seasons.

That one will dictate a lot of the rest.

“That’s always a conversation I have with Mr. I (team owner Mike Ilitch) at the appropriate time. And even though you take that money off (the expiring contracts of free agents), we have a lot of guys that are due for significant increases through arbitration. ... We’ve pushed the payroll as you’re aware in the last few years, many times,” Tigers president general manager Dombrowski said at the outset of last offseason.
“We have more arbitration-eligible players this year, than what we’ve had. There’s some significant guys that fit that category, and that will take up a significant amount of dollars for us.”

That has not changed one bit in one calendar year.

In fact, it may be an even more critical statement, given the fact that the Tigers have basically the same cast of arbitration-eligible guys, including Cy Young favorite Max Scherzer who’s set to get a hefty raise.

It would be hard to see how the Tigers — given their existing salary obligations — could make themselves better, or even just maintain the status quo without bumping the payroll yet again.

That will be offset some by $10 million in salary increases — $7 million of that alone in a bump in salary for Anibal Sanchez — for the six players under long-term contracts that represent $107.8 million in 2014 payroll between them.

Scherzer alone could be looking at more than doubling his 2013 salary of $6.73 million.

Could the raises for those players eat up the remaining $11.5 million in “savings” from the free agents’ salaries coming off the books?

Sure. Absolutely.

So you could be looking at next year’s Tigers basically having the same payroll as this year, minus their two starting middle infielders, and the guy who turned into their closer — all without spending a dime to add to the club.

Before you jump to that conclusion, though, you have to factor in the $25 million each team will receive, starting next season, from baseball’s new television deals.

That could make it easier for the payroll to slip further into uncharted territory.

Could it go even higher than that?

Depends on how much of a loss Ilitch is willing to take. Even with some deep runs into the playoffs, it’s estimated the Tigers have operated at a loss over the last six years.

The team’s payroll has fluctuated over that time, topping $130 million four times, and sitting on the cusp of $150 million last season. That was up more than $15 million from 2012, which was up more than $26 million from 2011.

Very rarely have Dombrowski — or Ilitch, for that matter — sat on their hands and remained at the status quo.

And the Tigers don’t need an overhaul, just a tweak.

“It’s not huge. We got good pitching, we got offense. Just had a couple injuries here and there, coming into the postseason. The offense is good, the pitching is good. I’m pretty sure we can tweak here and there, and Dave is good at that,” Torii Hunter said.
“It’s a tough feeling. I came here for the World Series ring, and I still think that, and I have confidence that next year, this team is gonna go that route. I know Dave Dombrowski is going to put some things together. Little pieces, because we don’t need much.
“I think he’s going to do something special. With that pitching staff, and our ballclub, the offense that we have, there’s no doubt we’ll be back in this position again. And we’re going to learn from our mistakes.”

Here’s a look at some of the storylines to follow in the offseason, as the Tigers try to tweak the roster just a bit, to make it back to the World Series:

Figure out left field

The platoon of Andy Dirks and Tuiasosopo had its moments during the regular season, but was a mess for a lot of it, too. Then, the two combined for five at-bats (all by Dirks) in the Tigers’ playoff run, as neither was hitting well enough to be counted on. Peralta played the bulk of the time in left field, in an attempt to get his bat in the lineup. It didn’t necessarily cost the Tigers, defensively, in the playoffs, but it still wasn’t pretty. Would that be a full-time solution? Tough to see that.

The Tigers will have to decide if they want to bring back either Dirks or Tuiasosopo, re-sign Peralta — who said he’d be willing, in order to stay in the organization — to play left, or hope that top prospect Nick Castellanos, who didn’t knock anyone’s socks off in September, is ready to take it over full time in the spring. Otherwise, it will require dipping back into free agency to fill the spot.

Fix the bullpen

The Tigers’ starters had a 2.06 ERA in the American League Championship Series, and the bullpen had a 4.98 ERA. About all that needs be said, isn’t it?

A sore spot all season long, even with Benoit’s emergence as a reliable closer in the second half, the bullpen needs to be fixed, and fixed right this time.

Even if the Tigers pick up Jose Veras’ very affordable $3.25 million team option, I don’t think anyone’s under the illusion he’s a closer on a pennant-worthy team, anymore. He’d be a nice piece to have in the setup role all season long.

If they want a more sure thing at closer, they’ll need to pony up the money to re-sign Benoit, or else find a solution in free agency. Any outside options won’t be any cheaper than Benoit would be, and the only other real option is to hope that Bruce Rondon is ready to do it this year, unlike last year. His elbow tendinitis to end the season will be a concern, if that’s the Tigers’ plan.

Add speed

For a team that’s built around the hitting prowess of a bunch of plodders, this has been an objective for the last couple of years — and something the Tigers have failed spectacularly at actually doing.

The trade for Jose Iglesias did add a bit of a speed factor, but when Hernan Perez was the best option to have on the playoff roster as a pinch runner, that is indicative of a system-wide shortfall in speed.

If the Tigers were to add a player with wheels, the likely spot to do that would be in left field. It would be enticing to think that they could add someone with the ability to lead off — Jacoby Ellsbury, anyone? — in case Austin Jackson continues to tread water in that role next year, but that would likely stretch the Tigers’ budget too much for what’s essentially a luxury item.

Strengthen the bench

When all the rage in the postseason was talk about benching struggling starters, the valid response was: Who do you put in their place?

The Tigers did not have any sort of remedy waiting in the wings, and really had no option but to go with what they had.

While Ramon Santiago’s time as a reserve has probably run its course, the Tigers have younger players to fill that middle infield reserve role, like Perez or Danny Worth, guys who would save some money. But also guys who probably won’t provide a ton of pop off the bench.

This might be a spot where, if he was willing to come back at a reduced rate, Peralta might fit, giving them someone who could fill in at shortstop, third base and in the outfield — and perhaps at second in an emergency. He’s not going to be the starting shortstop — that’s Iglesias’ job now — but still could be a valuable piece to the puzzle. Having a bat like his in reserve would certainly be an improvement on the 2013 bench.

Trade a starting pitcher

Unless the team has decided that Drew Smyly’s future lies in the bullpen, his role in 2013 — and, by all indications, they still consider him a starter in the long-term — the Tigers will go into spring training with the same dilemma as last year: Six big league-ready starters for five jobs.

Trading a starter would not only alleviate that logjam, but could — depending on who it is — bring back a more needed bullpen or outfield piece.

It would make more sense for that to be one of the three back-end guys — Smyly, Rick Porcello or Doug Fister — than one of the front three. For all the speculation that the Tigers might try to trade Scherzer while his value is highest, and before he reaches free-agency after next season, doing so hardly helps them get back to the World Series.

Make qualifying offers

The Tigers have a few key free agents they’ll either need to re-sign, or replace, particularly Benoit and second baseman Omar Infante.

The Tigers will have to decide quickly — within five days of the end of the World Series — which, if any, of those three they want to keep, and then decide if they want to tender the qualifier, or try to sign them separately, and risk losing them for nothing.

If they don’t re-sign Infante, then second base becomes a problem area, unless they think Perez is ready to inherit the job.

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his “Out of Left Field” blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.